Of course, Liu Xiaolou wanted to escape, but not now. Right now his entire focus was on refining the Bewildering Fragrance Tendon. Thanks to the Vermilion Bright Cave fire, this batch was turning out with a potent edge he’d never seen before.

How could he bear to walk away?

From a chunk of pine resin essence the size of a fist, he only chipped off a third of it, yet he managed to refine a tendon more than six feet long. After cutting off a section to merge into the Abyssal Blackstone Formation, the rest wound around him from shoulder to wrist, enough to last him for years.

With the Bewildering Fragrance Tendon at his side and the Abyssal Blackstone Formation restored, Liu Xiaolou’s confidence grew. He told himself that if he struck unexpectedly, he might even hold his own against Zhao Ruyu.

But this was still the Luofu Sect’s mountain gate. If he wanted to get out alive, he would have to wait for the right moment. So he bent over his work again, refining the formation disk.

A few days later, Zhao Ruyu finally brought the King Lotus Seed and a Springwater Crystal. That was when Liu Xiaolou entered the final stage of refining the disk. He ground the seeds and crystal into a fine powder and carefully sprinkled an even layer over the jade pendant. He then suspended the pendant in midair above the mouth of the well, letting it spin slowly as it was roasted.

The roasting process was a way of channeling true qi through the formation disk. He had to carefully check for any spots that were too sluggish, too wide, or where different spiritual liquids interfered with each other, making adjustments in real time.

Seven days later, the formation disk was finally complete.

This was the first killing formation disk Liu Xiaolou had ever finished on his own. It was similar to the Northern Blackwater Formation’s Kan One Palace disk that Xing Bujiao had refined, though its power was weaker by about thirty percent. To make it fit together with the Earth Gate Formation, he had made the necessary changes to the formation talismans.

When it was done, Liu Xiaolou took the spirit stone Zhao Ruyu had given him, sat to regulate his breath for six hours, and restored his strength. Then he rose, stepped out of the attic, and looked around. Zhao Ruyu was nowhere to be seen.

Had Steward Zhao grown more and more trusting of him? Or was he watching from somewhere close by?

“Steward Zhao! Steward Zhao!”

“I’ve finished refining the formation disk. Please come and inspect it!”

“Steward Zhao, where are you? I need you to check the work…”

Only the mountain wind swept over Huashou Terrace. No one answered.

Liu Xiaolou thought it over for a long while but didn’t dare act rashly. He simply waited, on edge, until night fell, and waited still more until dawn broke. Only then did he get up and set to work. He cut down vines and wove them into a bridge. Before long the bridge was done, and he crossed it to the far side of Yellow Dragon Ravine. There, playing it safe, he carefully drew out the formation disk and set it into the Earth Gate Formation’s core.

Right on time, a bank of mountain mist drifted over Jade Goose Peak. Entering the formation at this moment would be just like before: the formation would feel sluggish and unresponsive, and with a bit of effort it could be broken, letting one slip out easily to the thousand-year-old pine tree at its center.

But going back in would not be so simple. Anyone who reentered would find themselves caught in whirling pits of quicksand, swallowed up by endless grains. The longer they lingered, the weaker their struggles would become, until the sand wore away their skin, ground down their flesh, and left nothing but a skeleton.

After finishing the nesting of the formation disk, Liu Xiaolou withdrew from the Earth Gate Formation.

Still, Zhao Ruyu never showed.

At last, Liu Xiaolou made up his mind to leave. To be safe, though, he took brush and paper and wrote a letter, explaining the final step. The incantation to activate the two connected formation disks. He assured Zhao Ruyu that once the formations were set in motion, even he himself would no longer be able to enter.

To prove his sincerity, he added his usual place of residence: I live on Miao Feng Mountain. Though I travel widely, I always return to the mountain for several months each year. Should the formation disk ever need repair, you may come to Miao Feng Mountain and inform me. For the next three years, I will do it free of charge. After that, depending on the situation, I may ask for one or two spirit stones.

When he was done, he covered the well of Vermilion Bright Cave fire and left the letter on top of the lid.

I’ve set up the formation disk for you, and I’ve left you a letter. Even if I get dragged back, I’ll have enough reason to explain myself, right? I shouldn’t have to suffer for it, right?

With that thought, Liu Xiaolou set off before dawn, basket on his back, heading down the mountain. He hesitated for a while over which route to take, but in the end chose the old road through Qingxia Valley.

He couldn’t be sure whether Zhao Ruyu, or the people behind Zhao Ruyu, had been watching him all along. If they had, it made no difference which path he chose. If they hadn’t, then taking the old valley road was no problem either. The difference was that this way, at least, his actions were aboveboard. I promised you I’d finish the formation disk. I’ve done that. According to our agreement, I’m leaving the mountain. Nothing more, nothing less.

As he walked through the broken walls and ruins scattered across Huashou Terrace, he kept to that same mindset: chest straight, head held high, eyes forward, each step steady and upright. Even when he reached the exit of the mountain path, Zhao Ruyu still hadn’t appeared, so he kept walking.

Faster and faster…

By the rocks at the edge of Yellow Dragon Ravine, the soil shifted. Zhao Ruyu climbed out, slipped into the place where Liu Xiaolou had refined the formation disk, and found the letter resting on the well lid. He picked it up and read.

At first, it seemed casual, but by the end, he found myself frozen, my face reflecting a mix of emotions.

This Li Mu really was an honest man. People often said that formation masters, artifact refiner, and alchemists were all a bit single-minded. The rumors weren’t wrong…

An honest man…

Does that mean he has to die?

Liu Xiaolou, burdened with the label of “honest man,” was making his way out along the path through Qingxia Valley. At first he walked with his back hunched, hugging the cliffside as if by instinct. But after a while he realized how bad that looked, so he forced himself to change course, moving down the middle of the valley instead. There, hidden beneath shrubs and tall grass, ran a faint little trail that led all the way out of the sect.

He followed the mountain path, trying hard to appear open and at ease, yet deep down praying that no one from the Luofu Sect would spot him. His steps were brisk, yet a bit anxious. His whole being caught in a knot of contradictions. This only made him look more suspicious.

The valley mouth was close now, the ridges on either side spreading wider and wider. His pace quickened with every step, until suddenly, just as he was about to rush out, he stopped short, his foot frozen in place.

“Do you have to mess with me like this?” Liu Xiaolou groaned, staring in disappointment at the man blocking the road ahead. Then a surge of anger suddenly flared up inside him.

The man standing in his way looked to be in his thirties. He had a pair of drooping mustaches and was watching Liu Xiaolou with a smiling, half-squinting gaze. “You’re that formation master, aren’t you?” he asked.

Liu Xiaolou clenched his fists, forcing himself to rein in his nervousness and swallow his frustration. “And who might you be?”

“I’m an inner sect steward of the Luofu Sect,” replied the mustached man. “My surname is Zhan. Didn’t Zhao Ruyu mention me to you?”

Liu Xiaolou shook his head. “Since the day I entered the mountain, I’ve stayed on Jade Goose Peak and only ever saw Steward Zhao. He never once brought up Steward Zhan.”

Steward Zhan smiled and nodded slightly. “So, you’re planning to head down the mountain? The formation disk is finished?”

“Yes,” Liu Xiaolou said. “It’s done. As agreed, I’m preparing to return home.”

“What was the main problem you repaired?” Steward Zhan asked.

Liu Xiaolou looked around suspiciously. “Didn’t Steward Zhao tell you?”

Steward Zhan chuckled. “He had something to take care of today, so he didn’t have time to fill me in. He just asked me to come take a look.”

Liu Xiaolou’s expression turned solemn. “My apologies, Steward Zhan,” he said, raising his voice. “But we formation masters have a rule: once entrusted with a task, we only answer to the one in charge. As for anyone else asking about the formation disk, we give no reply.”

Steward Zhan’s smile deepened. He held up three fingers. “Here on Luofu Mountain, what you say doesn’t count. Three questions. Answer them right, and I’ll let you go.”